Beer Media: How to Open a Bottle of Beer without an Opener

I know that we have all been there, we forgot a bottle opener. I know that the majority of beers that I drink are not twist-offs, so this is a huge problem. Check out this video on how to use everyday items to crack open your beer.




The Science of a Bottle Opener



Open a Beer Bottle Using another Beer Bottle



My buddy Rogan taught me that one. Let's see what else we can learn.


Open a Beer Bottle Using a Ring




Open a Beer Bottle Using a Countertop



Open a Beer Bottle Using a Shaker Tin




Open a Beer Bottle Using a Cigarette Lighter




Open a Beer Bottle Using Your Teeth




Open a Beer Bottle Using Paper




Open a Beer Bottle Using a Spoon



I was staying in a hotel about to enjoy some Hoegarden when I realized I didn't have an opener. My coworker opened my hotel room door and stuck the bottle inside the the hole of the door frame and popped the cap off. There are many more ways of opening up your beer besides the instructional videos above. Let me know what you have tried.

Cheers!

Long Trail's Centennial Red

Vermont has many great breweries, and the Long Trail Brewery (website)happens to be one of the more well known ones outside of the state. Long Trail released the Centennial Red Ale in the late fall (November) of 2010 for their Brewmaster's Series and made availabe through January. It was brewed to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of North America's oldest hiking trail (theLong Trail). Their Brewmaster Series are limited releases brewed in small batches.

It was sold at my local liquor store as a 22oz bomber for around $5. This imperial red ale has approximately 7.9% Alcohol by Volume (ABV). It contains 55 International Bitterness Units (IBU) and is brewed with Nugget, Chinook, and of course, Centennial hops. The Centennial Red is brewed with two-row, caramel, roasted barley, and chocolate malts. Contrary to Coors belief, not all beer is meant to be served and drank at "Super Cold" temperatures. This beer is meant to be enjoyed between 45 and 55 degrees Farenheit.

I poured into a signature Long Trail pint glass and immediately noticed its excellent carbonation and a perfect frothy 2 finger head. It smells sweet and citrusy. The color is typical of an American Amber with deep redish/brown hue. The mouthfeel was smooth and crisp, perfect for a strong red ale. There is a strong presence of alcohol with caramel and some roasted malts that makes this beer slightly sweet. There is however a good balance between the sweet malts and citrusy hops. This beer has limited drinkability due to the high alcohol content. I would recommend this well balanced beer to anyone. Aside from the minor taste of alcohol, this is a very smooth beer. Not the best from Long Trail, but not too shabby!

Cheers!

Best Beer Bars: Philly Tap Finder

Rather than have an entire blog dedicated to the best beers bars in Philadelphia, PA, I will recommend people visit Philly Tap Finder. The website is focused on craft beer only. You can search by beer style, a particular bar, or a particular beer. The great thing is that it is constantly updated (it's like Gas Buddy, but for craft beer in Philly).

Beer Media: How to Use Beer in Unexpecting Ways

Maybe this just seems lazy on my part, but I think media (including videos and music) should be apart of this blog. I will try to mix up the variety day to day, week to week. This video suggests alternative uses for beer. Its focus is not craft beer, but instead the basic principles of beer.



Would you ever try any of these? Have your heard of your own interesting uses for beer besides drinking it?

Beer Education: Beer Consumption by State

What State Drinks the Most Beer?

2010 Beer Consumption By State

Rank	State	Shipment	.	Estimated	Per Capita
		(Barrels)	Rank	Population 21+	Consumption (gallons)
1	New Hampshire	1,386,944	37	972,077	44.2
2	Montana	971,947	43	724,590	41.6
3	North Dakota	647,547	47	488,172	41.1
4	South Dakota	722,163	45	575,533	38.9
5	Nevada	2,337,629	30	1,928,669	37.6
6	Wisconsin	4,833,368	12	4,104,027	36.5
7	Nebraska	1,484,112	36	1,286,989	35.7
8	Iowa	2,496,039	28	2,178,618	35.5
9	Vermont	528,469	48	465,053	35.2
10	Delaware	735,442	44	650,090	35.1
11	Texas	19,361,421	2	17,154,807	35
12	Louisiana	3,617,305	20	3,210,884	34.9
13	Mississippi	2,319,457	31	2,072,004	34.7
14	Wyoming	444,081	50	403,736	34.1
15	South Carolina	3,617,174	21	3,327,093	33.7
16	New Mexico	1,575,516	35	1,449,403	33.7
17	Maine	1,036,236	40	999,994	32.1
18	Missouri	4,454,255	15	4,300,988	32.1
19	Arizona	4,539,491	14	4,478,620	31.4
20	Ohio	8,386,105	7	8,305,392	31.3
21	Oregon	2,801,298	26	2,806,429	30.9
22	West Virginia	1,376,841	38	1,387,908	30.8
23	Colorado	3,565,994	22	3,595,067	30.7
24	Alabama	3,381,689	24	3,431,106	30.6
25	Hawaii	985,000	42	1,003,512	30.4
26	Illinois	8,842,590	6	9,154,497	29.9
27	Pennsylvania	8,894,102	5	9,331,047	29.5
28	Idaho	1,016,510	41	1,070,097	29.4
29	Kansas	1,886,675	32	1,999,716	29.2
30	Oklahoma	2,466,610	29	2,653,673	28.8
31	Minnesota	3,530,241	23	3,799,982	28.8
32	Alaska	454,629	49	491,763	28.7
33	Florida	12,714,196	3	14,030,290	28.1
34	District of Columbia	421,746	51	465,487	28.1
35	Virginia	5,190,586	11	5,799,894	27.7
36	North Carolina	6,109,484	9	6,835,727	27.7
37	Michigan	6,315,663	8	7,085,405	27.6
38	Rhode Island	679,090	46	771,272	27.3
39	Indiana	4,005,194	18	4,578,226	27.1
40	Arkansas	1,795,441	34	2,077,218	26.8
41	Massachusetts	4,121,871	17	4,825,238	26.5
42	Washington	4,149,637	16	4,860,559	26.5
43	Georgia	5,765,443	10	6,762,553	26.4
44	Tennessee	3,892,794	19	4,580,604	26.3
45	California	22,169,199	1	26,228,272	26.2
46	Kentucky	2,507,991	27	3,131,895	24.8
47	Maryland	3,248,845	25	4,175,913	24.1
48	New Jersey	4,758,293	13	6,391,930	23.1
49	New York	10,336,562	4	14,187,508	22.6
50	Connecticut	1,863,545	33	2,610,182	22.1
51	Utah	1,103,305	39	1,759,144	19.4

This data was acquired from the Beer Institute. The data assumes all persons 21 and over drink beer equally. The data reflects all beer shipments by state for calendar year 2010. This includes ALL beer (Budweiser, Coors, Miller, Imports, and Craft Beer). In the future I would like to refine this data into craft beer consumption by state. I would be interested to compare the results to education, climate, political and religious views.

For some more perspective, there are 128oz in one gallon or the equvalent of 8 pints (10.667 12oz bottles). This means the average person 21 years or older in New Hampshire (1st) drinks almost 354 pints of beer annually. That is almost one pint every day! Do the people of New Hampshire have nothing else better to do than drink? Is their state that depressing or do they truely love beer? Compare this with Utah's (51st) average person drinking 155 pints annually. That is like having 3 drinks a week. Utah being dead last does not surprise me, due to the high Mormon presence. Where does your state rank? Does this data surprise you?